


equalizer

by 1001cranes



Category: Everworld Series - K. A. Applegate
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-07
Updated: 2011-08-07
Packaged: 2017-10-22 07:58:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/235866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1001cranes/pseuds/1001cranes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things change, but Jalil and Christopher never do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	equalizer

Summer means Jalil sliding through water. Backstroke, butterfly, front crawl. Perfect. Precise. Breathing steadily, hands placed just so, hips turning this way and that. He usually gets in 30 or 40 laps before Christopher interrupts, and anything after that is exercise anyway. Christopher gets sunburnt and then tan, and Jalil spends so much time inside Christopher insists he’ll be a white boy in no time.

Fall means whole days in front of the fireplace, Jalil scribbling notes and Christopher making EW brand s’mores – sweetened biscuits with chocolate and a sugary marshmallow substance he bribed Jalil into making for him. It also means animals taking up residence in the attic. When Christopher prepares to battle them armed with a broom and a copper pot, Jalil promises to tell David all about it. Christopher leaves the animals where they are.

Winter means Christopher can bitch about being cold twenty-four seven and insist it is Jalil’s obligation to warm him up. They skate on the pond, and Christopher figures he shouldn’t be surprised that Jalil can do that perfectly too. Snowball fights are a given, of course, as is hot chocolate. The nights get longer and longer, and that is _definitely_ something Christopher can deal with.

Spring means Jalil trying out all the new outdoor inventions he created over the winter. Christopher helps and insults accordingly. He teaches the village kids how to play soccer, comes home covered in mud, and jumps Jalil anyway. Jalil isn’t nearly as annoyed as he likes to pretend.

Jalil firmly declares the left side of the bed as his property. Christopher declares that he has a stake in Jalil, and therefore a stake in the left side of the bed. They always fall asleep the same way; on the left side of the bed, Christopher’s feet hanging over the edge, snoring on top of Jalil. When Christopher wakes up Jalil will always be beside him, awake and staring, memorizing every detail.

Christopher finds that Jalil is meticulous even when having sex. A real details man. Which sounds strange, sure, but there’s nothing bad about feeling like a puddle of goo. At least not in Christopher’s opinion. He’s pretty sure Jalil could tie Gordian knots in cherry stems with his tongue.

The best thing about Jalil is that he understands. He understands that Christopher does and says stupid things and that he is nearly incapable of being serious. He understands that spending too much time in his lab will cause Christopher to hunt him down and pull him into the nearest broom closet, where they will have unspeakably dirty sex. He understands that if Christopher is still put-out afterwards it’s time to pull out the chocolate and/or the beer. Because he’s good like that, and because he understands that Christopher is serious about this.


End file.
